Aspirin use is not associated with an increase or a decrease in mortality from pancreatic cancer, a new study has found.

Previous epidemiologic studies have reported mixed and limited results regarding a possible association between aspirin use and pancreatic cancer risk. Eric J. Jacobs, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society, and colleagues examined self-reported aspirin use in a cohort of 987,590 adults in the United States Cancer Prevention Study II. In this group, aspirin use has previously been found to be associated with reduced risk of mortality from cancers of the colon, stomach, and esophagus.

During the 18-year follow-up period, 2,434 men and 2,143 women died from pancreatic cancer. The authors found no association between aspirin use and pancreatic cancer mortality, even among participants who reported aspirin use equal to or greater than 30 times per month or who had used aspirin for 20 or more years.

Contact: Eric Miller, American Cancer Society, (404) 417-5839, eric.miller@cancer.org

Indicator of Insulin Production Associated With Colorectal Cancer Risk

A new study has found that elevated insulin production--a condition called hyperinsulinemia--is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes share many risk factors, such as a diet high in calories, animal fat, and refined carbohydrates; a sedentary lifestyle; and a high body mass index. Hyperinsulinemia--a presence of excess insulin in the blood, which is associated with type 2 diabetes--also appears to be associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

To determine whether insulin and insulin resistance are associated with the risk of developing colorectal cancer, Jing Ma, M.D., Ph.D., of the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, measured the plasma concentration of C-p
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Contact: Katherine Arnold
jncimedia@oupjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
6-Apr-2004